UNLV basketball scrimmage to feature plenty of new faces

After two years at Oregon, Ben Carter was ready for a change, so he transferred. In that sense, he has plenty of company on the UNLV basketball team.

Carter is one of four transfer players on the Rebels' roster, and all four will be on the floor today for the Scarlet & Gray Scrimmage, which is free and open to the public, at 7 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Carter and senior guard Jerome Seagears, a transfer from Rutgers, sat out last season as redshirts. Senior guard Ike Nwamu is a graduate transfer from Mercer. Senior forward Chris Obekpa is practicing with the team but redshirting after transferring from St. John's in August.

The new-look Rebels also feature three freshmen — Derrick Jones Jr., Jalen Poyser and Stephen Zimmerman — and another newcomer in Tyrell Green, a junior forward from Hill (Texas) Junior College.

"With the culture of college basketball these days and transfers, there are new faces, and everybody's got a brand new team every year," Carter said. "It's like that everywhere, it's not just UNLV. It's very unlikely to find a team with more than five or six returners, and that's just the nature of the beast."

The Rebels do return some familiar faces. Jordan Cornish, Patrick McCaw, Dwayne Morgan and Goodluck Okonoboh played significant roles as freshmen. Daquan Cook, a junior guard, returns after missing last season with a knee injury.

Carter has returned to full speed after back surgery June 1. The 6-foot-9-inch junior forward was cleared to play Sept. 17.

"I feel awesome. I'm 100 percent, no restrictions," Carter said. "I'm progressing, and I'm excited to get out there in front of fans."

Carter, a Bishop Gorman High School graduate, played in 62 games in two seasons for the Ducks. He's competing for a starting role on UNLV's deep front line.

"Ben has looked good. He's still getting his conditioning from being out for so long, but he makes up for a lot of that with his basketball IQ and experience," coach Dave Rice said. "He's back to being the same guy he was before the injury. He will make up ground quickly."

Carter said the Rebels are in good shape in preparation for their Nov. 13 season opener against Cal Poly.

"We're doing well so far. I like our progress," he said. "It always takes time, and it's a process putting together a team, especially putting together a great team like we envision. We're getting there. We're not where we want to be yet, and we all have high expectations. We want to be a great team."

Cook and Jones will sit out of the scrimmage. Cook is recovering from a concussion, the result of bumping heads with Nwamu in practice. Jones will be sidelined into next week with a sprained ankle.

The team will be on the floor for about an hour to go through shooting and conditioning drills in addition to a brief scrimmage.

Runnin' Rebel Madness, a new event with a dunk contest, will be at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center on Oct. 22. Also, Rice announced UNLV will hold workouts for NBA scouting personnel Oct. 23 and 24 at the Mendenhall Center.

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247